Dulverton

Town

Address/Location

Contact

The delightful town of Dulverton lies on the southern edge of Exmoor National Park – Europe’s first International Dark Skies Reserve - and makes an excellent base for exploring the moor, day or night, summer or winter.

Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the town is close to Iron Age hill forts and a castle. With a proud history of serving generations of farming communities as a market town, Dulverton still has many independent shops and award-winning eating places. In the Middle Ages its importance grew as a centre for the wool trade and its fresh water was used to wash fleeces.

Tucked in a spectacular and steeply wooded valley which, along with the river Barle that runs through it, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the town is a natural draw for visitors who flock to it for the wildlife and famous bridges.

Being close to where two rivers, the Barle and the Exe, meet, Dulverton and the surrounding area boast a number of notable bridges, the best known of which is the prehistoric clapper bridge Tarr Steps, a highlight of any visit to the National Park. It is part of a nature reserve internationally significant for its mosses, liverwort and lichens and home to deer, dormice, otters and bats.

To help visitors make the most of their time in the town there is a National Park Centre with exhibitions on its heritage and a gallery. There is also the Guildhall Heritage and Arts Centre in the former Lamb Inn buildings where one of the cottages has been retained to give an idea of life in the town at the turn of the last century.

Among the well-known former residents of the town are the writer Auberon Waugh, the Earl of Carnarvon and George Williams, founder of the YMCA.

Location

Somerset

Road Directions

Road: From the M5 exit at jnct 27 and join the A361 to Tiverton. Turn onto the A396 in a northerly direction, and then take the B3222 to Dulverton.Maps: To plan your journey